20: Section 20

"Two samples?" 4277 asked again, "How many do you plan to make in total?"

"It depends. Let's start with seven or eight!"

Jing Yuan could currently control one flying dagger for rapid movement. According to his plan, as his Telekinetic Power grew stronger, he should be able to control several flying daggers at once, so preparing seven or eight was about right.

4277 immediately took off her coat and got ready to work.

Jing Yuan stood beside her, momentarily stunned.

4277 only wore a small tank top underneath. With her coat off, her shoulders and waist were exposed. The youthful body, mixed with the scent of sweat, left Jing Yuan momentarily dazed.

"What's wrong?" 4277 noticed Jing Yuan observing her.

"Nothing!"

Due to the suppression of desire on the Lighthouse, no one dared to openly discuss matters between men and women. So, the young 4277 didn't think about it in that way.

She took off her coat just to work more conveniently, completely unaware that her youthful body held an inexplicable allure for men.

"Let me help you!"

"Okay! These materials are too bulky; I need you to help me cut them. Can you do that?"

"Yes, leave it to me!"

Once 4277 got into work mode, she became very serious. At this moment, she didn't treat Jing Yuan as an Upper Citizen but rather as an assistant to boss around.

The two worked and chatted at the same time.

Jing Yuan was curious about how 4277 had learned the skill of making blades.

From 4277's account, she had learned these techniques from some older Dust Citizens.

Among these Dust Citizens, some were engineers from the old world, others were workers or blacksmiths, etc. They possessed various skills.

After the three great laws were enacted, Dust Citizens were treated like livestock. Apart from providing bug cakes regularly, nothing else was managed for them, let alone education.

The fact that Dust Citizens could read and master skills was all thanks to the older generation of cultured and skilled Dust Citizens who taught the younger ones culture and techniques.

4277 had a talent for mechanical repairs and weapon forging. Her friends, 4068 and 4079, also had talents in other areas.

It was just a pity that they were all Dust Citizens, and the Lighthouse had no use for them, so they could only rely on tinkering with small things to earn some contribution points.

With the help of the workshop machinery, 4277 worked smoothly and produced the first sample in just a few hours.

Jing Yuan toyed with the flying dagger in his hand. To save materials, 4277 had only made a 10-centimeter-long flying dagger.

Accelerated by telekinetic force, this 10-centimeter dagger could kill without a trace. However, it would be useless against Phage Beasts.

4277 looked at Jing Yuan and sighed, "I just realized I overlooked a problem."

"What is it?"

"To maintain the blade's strength, the simpler the design, the better. If we make the blade structure more complex to allow them to combine, it will affect the blade's strength."

Jing Yuan understood this principle—you can't have your cake and eat it too.

If he had to choose, Jing Yuan would prioritize blade strength, as this thing was meant to deal with Phage Beasts.

Holding the flying dagger, Jing Yuan said to 4277, "Let's prioritize blade strength."

"There's another problem. We don't have magnetic paint."

"Magnetic paint?" Jing Yuan thought for a moment and suddenly had an idea.

Chapter 20: Dedicated gravity body

Nowadays, most of the supplies on the Lighthouse are collected from The Surface.

The old world left behind a vast amount of industrial remnants, and by collecting these materials, the people on the Lighthouse have survived for decades.

Among all the collected supplies, raw materials are the most abundant and the cheapest on the Lighthouse.

Since many production lines from the old world cannot be replicated, the more finely processed items are, the more expensive they are.

Magnetic paint is a type of finely processed composite material used on gravity bodies. It is extremely scarce on the Lighthouse and strictly controlled.

There are only so many gravity bodies on the Lighthouse, and the materials available for repairs are limited—they diminish with use.

Jing Yuan told 4277 he would find a way to get magnetic paint and then left the workshop.

Jing Yuan went to the Armament Preparation Depot, hoping to find materials through the Wasteland Hunters.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Erica came looking for Jing Yuan.

Jing Yuan had passed the assessment and was now a member of the Wasteland Hunters.

During the last ground operation, Mark had noticed Jing Yuan's excellent control of the gravity body and directly assigned him to pilot one.

Learning that Jing Yuan and Erica were former classmates, Mark sent Erica to find Jing Yuan and take him to the maintenance room for final adjustments to the gravity body.

The gravity body assigned to Jing Yuan was a modified one. It excelled in close combat and had strong mobility. Because of these two points, few people had been able to fully utilize its capabilities before.

Erica led Jing Yuan to the Research Department.

Seeing the sign for the Research Department, Jing Yuan was puzzled, "Why the Research Department?"

Erica replied, "Captain Mark requested that your gravity body be upgraded to its maximum potential. This level of deep maintenance and modification is usually handled by the Research Department!"

Jing Yuan followed Erica into the interior of the Research Department.

Several gravity bodies were being repaired there, likely damaged in previous battles.

Repairs of this scale for gravity bodies were handled by the Research Department. The Armament Preparation Depot could only handle minor fixes and adjustments.

Jing Yuan looked at a gravity body straight ahead. It had a white torso and black limbs, looking as if it had been hastily pieced together.

Jing Yuan thought to himself, this couldn't be the gravity body assigned to me, could it?

He prayed it wasn't, but looking around, this was the only intact gravity body.

Erica pointed at that gravity body and said, "Look, this is your gravity body!"

This statement completely shattered Jing Yuan's hopes.

"Sister Jing Nan! Jing Yuan is here!" Erica called out ahead.

A stunningly beautiful woman with a hot figure walked out from behind the gravity body.

She had her hair tied up and wore only a tank top on her upper body, showcasing her perfect figure.

"Is that Jing Nan?" Jing Yuan whispered.

Jing Nan was a high-ranking official on the Lighthouse and was rarely seen.

In Jing Yuan's impression, Jing Nan always wore a uniform.

This outfit was indeed rare.

But Jing Nan was in charge of the Lighthouse's flight operations, so why was she here repairing gravity bodies?

"Yes, I'm Jing Nan!" She looked at Jing Yuan and asked, "You must be Jing Yuan, right?"

"Yes."

"So, you're the one who fought Mark to a draw?" Jing Nan looked at Jing Yuan with interest.

"The captain just went easy on me."

"Quite modest. Many people saw it; your strength is no weaker than Mark's! That's why Mark specifically asked me to help tune your gravity body to the level of 'Dawnbreaker'!" Jing Nan patted the gravity body beside her and said, "I'm not sure if you can handle such mobility, so I called you over to test it. We'll make final adjustments based on your feedback."

Jing Yuan looked at the gravity body in front of him and asked skeptically, "What kind of performance can this pieced-together gravity body have?"

Hearing Jing Yuan doubt her work, Jing Nan frowned slightly and said, "The Lighthouse can't produce gravity bodies, so we can only recycle intact components. Even though it's a pieced-together machine, its performance is no weaker than Mark's 'Dawnbreaker'!"

Jing Yuan smiled awkwardly. Given the Lighthouse's conditions, there wasn't much choice.

Fortunately, he had his system to assist him. As he grew stronger later on, the gravity body would become optional.

However, at this stage, the gravity body would still be a great help to him.

"Go ahead and give it a try! If it doesn't suit you, I can slightly adjust the output power and reduce the performance a bit," Jing Nan suggested.

Hearing Jing Nan somewhat underestimate his abilities, Jing Yuan felt a surge of determination, "If I try it and find the performance too weak, can it be enhanced again?"

Jing Nan was taken aback. This kid was too arrogant!

She had tuned it to match Mark's gravity body, 'Dawnbreaker.' Too weak? Did he think he was stronger than Mark?

"Try it first, and then we'll talk!"

"I want to make a bet with you!" Jing Yuan looked at Jing Nan, an idea forming in his mind.

"Bet on what?" Jing Nan also had a competitive streak.

"Hmm!" Jing Yuan thought for a moment and said, "If I can perfectly control this gravity body, besides helping me enhance its performance, you have to agree to an additional request of mine!"

"No problem!" Jing Nan agreed without hesitation.

The gravity body 'Dawnbreaker' had strong performance. Apart from Mark, others needed frequency locks to use it, or it would be hard to control.

She didn't believe this kid in front of her could control it perfectly.

"Alright!" Jing Yuan entered the gravity body and started it up according to the procedure.

Jing Nan picked up a computer, synchronizing and monitoring the gravity body's status.